Kumho Tire focusing on recovery from factory fire

Seoul – Kumho Tire is focusing on recovery from a major fire that broke out at its Gwangju manufacturing facility in Korea earlier in May, according to CEO and president Jeong Il-Taek.

The Korean tire maker plans to “focus all of its capabilities on quickly recovering from the damage caused by this fire and getting back on its feet together with the local community,” Jeong said in a 30 June statement.

Kumho also said it will “grow into a safer and more responsible company based on the trust of local residents.”

The comments were made during an event at which a local private high school donated funds raised for Kumho to the company.

The donated funds from students at Neungju High School in Hwasun-gun, Jeollanam-do, will be added to the compensation scheme for victims of the fire, Kumho said.

“As we are experiencing many difficulties due to the completely unexpected fire, the warm sharing shown by Neungju High School students has been a great comfort and encouragement,” said Jeong.

“We will... do our best to restore the factory as soon as possible and give back to the local community,” the Kumho CEO said.

The Gwangju factory has a capacity to produce 12 million tires a year, accounting for nearly 20% of Kumho's global production capacity, according to company data.

On 18 May, a major fire broke out at the factory's mixing plant and took 77 hours to extinguish. (ERJ report)